


Hope not Lost

by badasshunny



Category: Red Dead Redemption
Genre: Arthur doesn’t get sick, Death, Dutch is a good man, F/M, Love Story, Micah is a little Bitch, Protective Dutch, runaways - Freeform, serious violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-05 01:21:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17315399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badasshunny/pseuds/badasshunny
Summary: The daughter of Sadie Adler, watches as her parents are shot dead by the O’Driscoll gang.Luna Alder is discovered by The Van Der Linde gang, and is taken under Dutch’s wing. However, Luna is hunted by the O’Driscoll boys since she was able to escape their clutches the first time around. Luna fights for her freedom from being hunted, and along the way, a certain gang leader falls in love. Will Luna be able to break free from the past, or will she be taken under?





	1. Chapter 1

“Luna get out of here!” My mother screamed, pushing me towards the back door. I carefully stepped over my father’s dead body. Those men, they were coming for all of us, and for what reason I do not know. All I know is I’m either going to die, or end up as their prisoner. The O’Driscall boys would stop at nothing though to get what they seek. 

 

I watched my mother fall to the ground alongside of my father, both dead. The shooters were still coming though, most likely to kill me next. They were trying to force the door open, and even kept smashing the windows just to climb through after me. 

I ran to the back door, barging out in the freezing weather. All I wore was some work pants and an old long sleeve shirt, no shoes or anything. I whistled to my horse, Blair, who came flying out from my family’s barn. He was all saddled up and ready to ride, just as I was.

I mounted up, gripping the reins in my hands. I heard them coming, and I gave my horse a good kick to get him moving up the trail. I heard them coming for me, I was too spooked to look back and see them advancing on me. 

“Come on boy!” 

I pushed my horse harder and tried to ignore the biting winds on my face. This was insane, if I did survive this I wouldn’t have a family to return to. 

I was knocked off my horse by a blonde man. He forced me to the ground and pointed a gun at my head, a killer look in his eyes. 

“Are you one of them!?” He yelled, cocking the gun, and I had no idea what he was talking about. If he wasn’t one of them than who was he? 

I guess I didn’t answer in time because he smacked me with the butt of the gun. Knocking me down into the cold snow. I had no energy to fight him off. My parents are dead so what’s the point of even fighting back. 

“Micah what the fuck are you doing!?” The man named Micah was pulled away from me by a taller man, who seemed to scream nothing but dominance. He looked down at me, and must’ve known I was no threat to them. He grabbed my arms and gently pulled me into a sitting position. 

“Are you alright, miss?” He asked, his voice had sent serious chills down my spine. The man looked oddly familiar but my brain wouldn’t work it only stuttered at the sight of a handsome man before me. 

“Yes, those guys, they killed my parents, I was just looking for a way to flee.” I said honestly, shivering as the wind seemed to pick up even more. This was a truly terrible storm, and I was hardly dressed to be even near the outside. The man took notice of my lack of clothing and scooped me out of the cold snow. 

We walked back down the hill, and my house was in flames, along with dead bodies lying all over the place. Everything my parents owned was now gone. I wanted to cry at the sight but was able to hold back. 

“I’m sorry about your loss, miss.” The man said sincerely, but I doubt it was his fault. It was that damn gang, and they most likely would be on the hunt to get me. 

“You can stay with us for as long as you’d like.” He said kindly, carrying me towards his white horse. I was gently mounted up on the back, but before he got on, he handed me his winter jacket, which I gratefully accepted. I wrapped the oversized coat tightly around myself. He mounted up as well, grabbing the reins of his horse. 

Another man lassoed my horse, bringing him along with us. We rode away from the burning house and up into the mountains. I was scared of these men but no harm was seeming to come from them, except for Micah. I was definitely scared of him. He had a crazed look in his eyes. 

I gripped tightly to the man in front of me as his horse had picked up incredible speed. I felt like I was going to fall off, and I almost did as his horse made sharp turns. 

We arrived to a set of abandoned cabins, but this must’ve been where there camp was. There was a few horses hitched, and smoke coming out of the little cabins stacks. We came to a slow trot before bringing the horse to a hitch post. 

The man hopped off and tied his horse, along with grabbing mine and doing the same thing. He reached his hands out to me to help me get off. Before my bare feet could touch the ground though he swooped me up into his warm arms. 

“The girl will stay with me, and I will get her situated to be with us.” He said walking up near a cabin. 

“Just watch she truly ain’t one of those boys, Dutch.” Micah said, giving me a hard glare. Dutch didn’t give an answer, instead he opened his cabin, where a fire was already burning, and put me on his bed. 

“I will get you more clothes from some of the other ladies, but tell me miss, what exactly did happen back there.” He asked, lighting a cigar up in his mouth. 

I sighed and wrapped the blanket he had around me in an attempt to become warm. 

“Those men were after my family, due to something my dad had done but I’m unsure of what he did. They are going to hunt me though, they know I got out of there alive, thanks to you.” I said, giving him a slight smile.

“What’s your name, dear?” Dutch asked. 

“I’m Luna Adler.” 

“Such a nice name for a fine young lady.” He said charmingly. I smiled in return. Dutch looked too familiar to me, and he seemed to have a gang just like the one who attacked my house. It’s he actually going to let me leave if I decided to, or was that just a way that he could get me to go with him? 

My mind was a slight mess, and I wasn’t sure what to believe. I didn’t want to seem rude, but I was just a tiny bit scared that this was all just a trap. 

“Sorry to ask this, but you look really familiar, is there any way that I know you?” I finally asked him, gripping the blankets tighter in my hand. He stopped what he was doing and turned to face me again. 

He took something out of his pocket and handed it to me. It was an old piece of paper that was for sure. I carefully unfolded it to see a wanted poster. It was for Dutch Van Der Linde. He was wanted for robbery, theft, murder, and running from the law. He was a murderer, that’s how I knew him. He killed people with his gang and stole a lot of money. I remember hearing about it whenever I went to town. 

“I’m a bad man, but I assure you, no harm shall come to you while you are with me. “ he said gently. I had no reason to not believe in him, he was never once aggressive with me. 

“You should rest, dear. We all should be heading out of these mountains in a few days, maybe even sooner.” He said, poking at the fire. I took his advice and laid down, fully covering myself with the blanket. 

I was asleep faster than I thought I would be. 

***

The sun shone through my eyelids as I began to open them. It was already morning, it was hard to believe. That man, Dutch, was nowhere in sight. Instead there were some shoes and clothes placed on the little table near the end of the bed. He had gotten me clothes, just as he said he would. 

I threw on the new shirt, along with his jacket that he had left for me. The pants he gave me were thick, along with the nice tall snow boots. A pair of gloves was left for me too. I headed outside once I was fully dressed, and walked over to where my horse was still hitched. 

I patted his side and grabbed his favorite food, an apple. He ate it happily, and nudged his head against mine. I patted him once more before mounting him. 

I wanted to explore the area, and see if I could be to any use to these guys. I didn’t want to just be a bother to them and seem lazy. 

I was walking towards the exit of the camp to maybe go look for food when my horse’s reins were grabbed onto, bringing him to a halt. Dutch was holding them and staring at me deeply. 

“I was just going to look for food, that’s all.” I said, easing his worries. 

“It’s dangerous out here, there is wolves, and bear lurking all over the place. Take Arthur with you.” Dutch said. That’s when Arthur approached. He was a handsome man as well, and he wore a thick blue coat. He seemed to know of me already. 

“Charles is also tagging along.” He said. Charles came over as well, with a bow slung around his shoulder. 

“You two watch after her, you know how these mountains are.” Dutch ordered. The two nodded in agreement. Dutch released my horse and gave it a gentle slap to get him moving. 

“I grew up in these mountains boys, I think I can handle myself. I don’t want to slow you down.” I said to Arthur and Charles. They laughed at that. 

“You won’t slow us down at all, don’t worry about nothing.” Arthur said reassuringly. 

We had ended up finding deer tracks, for which we followed. Arthur ended up killing one and so did I, with Charles bow. I was happy with myself that I was able to actually help out instead of being a bother. 

I strapped the animal to the back of my horse and as did Arthur. We headed out, back towards our camp with the food we managed to get. As we were walking back I noticed wolves prints along with bear prints. They seemed fresh too. I was a little anxious but made my horse move forward. 

I’ve been born in these mountains and never once had I encountered a dangerous animal. It must’ve been because I never really wandered far from my house, or the fact that if my parents had to travel, we would take a wagon to town to get whatever we needed. 

Arthur grabbed my horses reins, pulling back to make him stop. Arthur seemed worry, and his horse was freaking out, along with Charles horse. 

“Don’t move.” Arthur said sternly to me. I didn’t dare. I heard something coming, something big. Blair was starting to backup, and freak the hell out. A bear was coming up over the mountain at a really fast pace. 

The bear growled and roared when he spotted us not far from him. He began to charge, seeing movement from the horses. Blair went on his hind legs, knocking my off and stepping back onto me. He broke free of the hold Arthur had on him and he ran off. Arthur ran forward to distract the bear, along with Charles. 

I tried to get up but I couldn’t. My ribs screamed in agony where Blair had stepped on me. I whistled for him to come back, but it seemed he ran the rest of the way to camp because he wasn’t coming. Arthur and Charles couldn’t distract the bear for long so I had to act now or get killed.

A white horse suddenly came to the rescue, flying around a sharp turn in my direction. It was Dutch, and he ran right to me. 

I tried to get up once more but couldn’t. He hopped off of his horse and grabbed me, and instead of putting me on the back of his horse, he put me up front. He got on behind me, to make sure I wouldn’t fall off as we were running. 

Dutch whistled to Arthur and Charles, telling them to follow him back to camp. He gave his horse a good kick, and it started running at a fast pace back towards camp. I cried in agony as the rough ride did nothing but bring me pain. 

We rode fast, the horse not once slacking. We came flying into camp, and everyone who was there came rushing around us to see what had happened. I saw Blair being held by one of the girls, he was still unsteady. 

Dutch got off and then grabbed a hold of me. He carried me back towards his cabin, a man trailing behind him. Once inside I was laid down on the bed on my back. 

“Hosea see what you can do for her.” Dutch ordered. Hosea then turned his attention to me. With careful hands he opened up my thick jacket, and lifted up my shirt. There was a nasty and bloody bruise right under my breast. 

He carefully felt around the area, and it burned like utter hell. I let him continue though. He pulled out some medicine and cream. He gently dabbed my wound with some ointment, it burned to the touch. 

“It seems your horse got you pretty good. With in a few days you should be able to get back on your feet.” Hosea said kindly. Dutch helped me sit up so I could get the wound wrapped. Once it was done my shirt was pulled back down and Hosea stood from the bed. 

“Just keep an eye on her Dutch, if there is any hassle at all, just come and get me.” Hosea said, and Dutch nodded at him, and with that Hosea left. 

“What happened out there?” Dutch asked me, staring me down. 

“I noticed the prints in the snow but we kept on going. Blair had gotten spooked and knocked me off once he had noticed the bear coming.” I explained to him. 

“Blair then had stepped back, which is just where I happened to be laying.” 

Dutch nodded and sighed. He took his hat off and rubbed his head. 

“You’re lucky that Blair came back here, otherwise I would’ve never known there was trouble.” He said. 

“I appreciate what you did.” I said gratefully. 

“It was no problem at all.” 

There was a knock on his door and Arthur opened the door. 

“The food is ready, if you guys are hungry.” Arthur said, and Dutch got up. He glanced back at me, saying he’d bring some back for me. 

Maybe staying under his protection wouldn’t be so bad.


	2. Chapter 2

(A few weeks later)

The snow was finally melting enough for them to get the wagons out and pack up. Hosea has mentioned to Dutch that there was a nice little hideout he knew of down near Valentine. It would be a good spot for awhile, if we laid low. Dutch has mentioned that I wasn’t a criminal, and he wanted me to lay low too, because he didn’t want me to live like they have to. He didn’t want me to be on the run. 

All the wagons were ready to roll around noon, everyone was finally ready to leave the mountain. I had let Blair be used to help pull one of the wagons, since they had lost a few horses to the bitter cold. 

“You shall ride with me, dear.” Dutch said, climbing up on one of the wagons. He held his hand out to me to help pull me up with him. I was so excited to just leave this bitter cold, it was sure taking a toll on me. 

Dutch got the horses moving, headed down the mountain. Everyone was closely behind. I settled into my seat and watched as the snow slowly turned into fresh green grass. The air seemed to turn lighter, and I breathed in the fresh air. I smiled and stared up at the sky, this world was truly beautiful. 

I caught Dutch staring at me from the corner of my eye, he had a smile on as well. I threw a smile in his direction as well. Maybe I can make a life with all of these guys. There was nowhere else for me to run off to, unless I wanted trouble with that other gang, and I had no doubt in my mind they were still after me. 

“What re you thinking about?” Dutch broke me out of my thoughts. I sighed and played with my long blonde hair. 

“Those boys, I know they’re still after me, I’m unfinished business to them. What will I do Dutch if they find me?” I asked, feeling a bit of fear in my chest. I didn’t want to ever have to face that situation, they would kill me. 

“Let’s put it this way, they would have to kill me to get to you.” My heart had fluttered at that, I turned away to hide the blush on my cheeks. Never in my life has a man ever talked to me in such a way before. He seemed to notice my blush and gave a smile in my direction. 

We rode the rest of the way in silence, arriving to the little overlook Hosea had all directed us towards. It was absolutely beautiful. I hopped off the wagon and began to help everyone unpack everything they brought. 

I noticed I was getting hard glares from one of the females in the group. She was a red head, and to me she seemed like nothing but a snob. I did my best to ignore her and continued to help with unpacking. 

I undid all the horses from the wagon, hitching them all up and making sure to feed them all. 

I was nudged from behind by a familiar white stallion. He rubbed his head against mine, neighing in delight at me. I gave him an apple I had in my bag, and he took it happily. I rubbed his neck soothingly, leaning up against him. His fur was so soft, Dutch must take good care of him. 

“You know that horse never lets anyone touch him.” Arthur said from behind me. I turned and faced him smiling. 

“Well maybe I just have that magic touch, I grew up taking care of horses.” I said as I continued to pet him. Arthur smiled at us and headed over to where the others were. 

“You’re a good boy.” I said, giving him one last pat before heading to my own tent. My tent was kind of small, and it sat near the edge of the vast cliff. It was a beautiful place to just look out and see the river rushing down in the valley. 

I whistled to Blair, who came flying over to me from where he was sniffing around. I laughed and hopped up on him. Blair has never been in water before, so now was the time to get him accustomed to it. Not to say I wanted to take a fresh bath as well. 

I led him down the steep hill, and then got him at a good running pace towards the calmest part of the water. He ran into it, trusting me fully. He seemed to enjoy putting his head in the water and jumping around quite a lot. 

I hopped off him and let him play around in it. I began to rinse myself off as well as he played around. It felt so refreshing to be in water, and have the sun shine brightly down upon us. Blair put his head under water then flicked the water up into my face playfully. I splashed him back, to which he happily neighed. 

We kept that up for a few minutes, and I never felt this kind of happiness before. Blair came running at me and I jumped up onto his saddle. He ran with me through the water and he must’ve not realized how deep it was getting because he suddenly dropped under, dragging me along with him. 

I fell off of him, and I’ve never been in water before that was this deep, I had no idea how to swim. I gripped onto Blair, but he was too busy freaking out to realize he was dragging me under. 

Blair swam quickly to the shore, most likely running off. He was spooked by how deep the water became. I didn’t blame him, I was scared too. 

I heard a loud splash enter the water and something grabbed the back of my shirt. I was yanked up and pulled to the shore before being gently laid down on the ground. I coughed up water along with some blood as well. I felt chilled to the bone now, even if the sun was still shining. 

A loud neigh brought me back to Earth. I looked up to see Dutch’s horse beside me, dripping water down onto me. He had jumped in after me, and saved me. 

A stranger that was on the path hopped off his horse and came running over. He wasn’t even able to get close to me. The stallion blocked his path, huffing angrily at him. The stranger tried once more only to get the same result. He backed off after that and rode off at a fast pace. 

The horse turned his attention to me once more. He lowered himself down and I got the message, he wanted me to get on him. I crawled up onto him, securing my legs in the straps before he rose back up to his full height. 

He went back up the mountain towards camp, obviously looking for someone as we got up over the steep hill. The horse led me outside of a tent, letting out a loud neigh once more when he halted. 

Dutch came out of the tent with a surprised face. It soon turned to worry as he saw us both soaking wet. Dutch reached his hands up for me, getting me down from his horse. 

“Thank you, boy.” He said patting his neck before turning and taking me inside his tent. I was sat down on one of his softer chairs. He sat down across from me, lighting a cigar. 

“I almost drowned, and if it wasn’t for that horse I probably would have.” I spit out anxiously. I have caused nothing but problems for this man it seems and I felt terrible. 

“The Count is loyal to me, and he protects all those he believes belongs to me. That just happens to be you.” He stayed as if it wasn’t a huge deal. 

“Belong to you? Dutch I don’t belong to anyone.” I said defiantly. How dare he even say that to me. Did he take me just to try and get with me. Dutch seemed surprised by my response, but didn’t say anything else to me. 

I huffed and stood up before I stormed out of his tent. The count watched me head over to my tent, and I knew that horse thought I belong to his owner. But i really didn’t. I changed my clothes before heading back out. I approached Arthur who was mounting his horse. 

“Are you headed anywhere?” I asked him. 

“I’m just going to Valentine to get a drink or two. You’re welcome to join me if you’d like Luna.” 

“Of course, I need to just get some air.” I said. I whistled for Blair but I saw Dutch holding him back in the corner of my eye. 

“What’s the deal Dutch?” I called to him angrily. He seemed unfazed though. 

“Take my horse, yours is in need of some rest.” He ordered, leaving no room for argument. I sighed as I saw his horse come running over eagerly. I mounted him and grabbed a hold of his reins. I followed Arthur out of camp and onto the trail.

This horse rode nice, and he was a very steady ride. I didn’t like how Dutch was kind of being controlling though, and it seemed like he was used to being in control of everything. 

“Dutch has always been one for the ladies, but when he is up your ass like he is, it means something.” He said, riding alongside of me. 

“I just have never been controlled before, it’s a new feeling.” I said, brushing my hair out of my eyes. 

“I won’t lie to you, you’re quite a looker. I can see why Dutch is acting the way he is with you.” Arthur said smiling. I blushed at the compliment, who knew Arthur could be such a sweet talker. 

We arrived in the little muddy town, where we headed straight to the saloon. We both hitched the horses and headed up inside. It was a small little bar but it would due. 

We both headed to the bar and ordered some beers. We talked for awhile, just about how we came to be, and I learned that Arthur was found by Dutch when he was young and also had been taken under his wing. Dutch was a troubled man, but all he wanted in return for helping the gang was their loyalty and nothing more. 

“He said he will die before those boys get me, but it’s not fair to you guys that I was brought into your gang and now Dutch has to protect me.” I said, I truly felt guilty about it. They had bigger problems than protecting some girl who had lost her family. 

“Dutch doesn’t have to protect you, but he wants to. He has that look in his eye when he watches you, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before that’s for sure.” Arthur said, finishing off his fourth beer of the night. I finished off my fifth, I had a rough night, and this seemed the best way to ease off my nerves. 

We both decided it was best to head back for the night, it was getting super late and no doubt Dutch wouldn’t rest until he knew I was back safely. We rode back in silence, it was mostly because we were both experiencing a buzz. I probably felt it more than he did, I didn’t have a very high tolerance. 

I didn’t need to tell the horse where to go, he took me home without any of my guidance. When we arrived back into the secluded camp, The Count brought me right outside Dutch’s tent. 

Dutch must’ve been waiting for me because he came right out when he heard his horse approach. He gave his horse a good pat and some sweet words before helping me get off. 

He led me inside of the tent and helped me to lay down on his bed. He slid off my boots and covered me with a blanket. I snuggled up and sighed, his bed was way more comfy than the one that was in my tent. 

Dutch sat in one of his chairs and continued what he was doing before I arrived. He was looking over a map it seemed, and marking off spots. 

I fell asleep watching him.


	3. Chapter 3

A few days had gone by, and all I’ve been doing is pretty much playing with the horses and trying my best to ignore Dutch. After what he said that one night, he wasn’t getting any of my attention. The boys had been doing a few heists, gathering up money just so we could move again. There was no choice but to keep on moving out. We still had awhile here but it was better to be safe than sorry. 

That redhead was still giving me glares, and for whatever reason I was unsure. I had no beef with her, so why she seemed to have beef with me was getting on my nerves. I stopped petting the horses and finally approached her, glaring at her hard. 

“Can I ask what your problem is with me?” I spat at her angrily. She looked at me with disgust and fanned herself with one of those weird ass hand fans. 

“Look honey let me just warn you, if I see you sniffing around Dutch again you will be dead.” She said snobbishly to me. Who the hell was she to tell me what to do?

“Look bitch, he came after me. I never sniffed around him as you say.”

“Me and Dutch are an item, don’t go ruining it.” With that said she walked off to wherever her tent was. For some reason I felt my heart clench painfully at her words. I did my best not to show it, if he was with her, than why even bother with me? 

I felt tears prick my eyes, and I quickly walked over to my horse. I just needed to go for a ride or wind up at the bar again. I can’t think about this right now. How could he even play around with me like he has? Or has he just been kind to me and I mistaken it for some romantic feelings?

Blair rode fast away from camp, flying past Bill who was guarding the entrance way. Dutch was talking to him and watched me go. He looked distraught as he watched me go, but I didn’t care. 

“Wait!” I heard Bill yell, but I just went even faster. I didn’t want to be stopped or even bothered by anyone right now. 

I rode until the sun had become the moon. I had no idea how far I was, but it was a few hours of just straight riding. I had stopped along a river bank to let Blair get some water in his system. I hopped off of him and got a drink myself. I would go back of course, but I just needed to clear my mind. 

I felt the tears make their way down my face for the second time that day. I missed my parents, if they hadn’t died then who knows what would have happened. Dutch would have never met me, and I would maybe live a normal life. I’d get with a normal guy and have some kids and live life like that. 

Knowing Dutch and the gang now I didn’t want a life like that. It seemed to simple for me now. I had feelings for Dutch, even if I didn’t want to show them. His horse even liked me, and no one else besides Dutch. Like Arthur has said to me, all of this means something. 

The fact that there was a bitch who has him bothers me. He never mentioned it to me, and nor had I ever seen her wrapped around him the whole time I’ve been running with them. 

I was so caught up in my own thoughts I never heard the horse approaching from behind me. The only thing I did hear was a gun cocking from behind me. I turned around to see someone I never wanted to see again. 

Colm O’Driscoll sat high up on his horse, gun in hand and ready to shoot. I was terrified about what his intentions were. How did he even find me? I was sure I left no trace of myself anywhere in these weeks that they were all searching for me. 

“If it isn’t Luna Adler.” His voice sent chills down my spine, and not the good kind either. 

“What do you want Colm?” 

“Let’s not play games. I want you, now more than ever. Especially after finding out your little secret.” 

I turned to face him, and glared hard at him. What could he possibly be talking about? He seemed to be just plain insane. 

“What are you talking about Colm?” I spat out, grabbing my horses reins and bringing him closer to me. 

“Dutch wants you, don’t play stupid with me. I saw the way he looked at you when he stopped Micah from killing you. You’re valuable to him.” Colm said circling me slowly, never once taking his aim off of me. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He laughed at me, shaking his head. 

“I can’t take you now, but I will, just you wait. So let’s send a little Message to old Dutch.” He said. His gun fired, and I felt it go straight through my leg, knocking me to the ground. I screamed in agony and gripped the wound. 

Colm climbed off his horse and gave me a kick to the face, flipping me on my side. I spat out blood, and tried to block his oncoming blows. He kept kicking me, in all the sensitive spots of the human body. 

He kneeled next to me then, lifting my shirt up. I saw through my blurred vision that he pulled out a knife. The blade looked shiny in the moonlight. He laid the blade down against my rib cage and began to carve. I felt him plunge the blade deep, successfully carving a D on my side. 

He rose back to his feet, and grabbed his gun once more. He pointed it at Blair, a sick grin on his face. 

“No! Please!” I begged him, grabbing his foot in attempt to make him change his mind. The gun fired, he shot Blair right through the heart, killing him instantly. 

“Maybe you’ll die out here, or maybe you’ll be lucky enough to be found.” Colm taunted. 

He mounted his horse and rode off, not once looking back at me. I screamed in grief, and crawled over to where Blair was laying. I had raised him from when he was born on my farm. He was all I had left of my parents and now he was gone. 

I had no way to get back to camp either. I was probably gonna die here, there is not way that anyone knows where I am. I cried, and tried to stop my wounds from bleeding out. It was hard, the scent of blood in the air might even attract wolves. 

I laid up against Blair, petting his soft fur. He was the best horse I’d ever had, he was nothing but loyal. He was always easily spooked, but every time I’ve fallen off, I got right back on. 

My long blonde hair was matted with blood, and I ran my now pale fingers through it. I was bleeding out heavily, and I needed to do something now about it. 

I reached in my saddle bag and grabbed some cloth and began to wrap the bleeding wounds. This was all I had, and it would have to do. 

I stared up at the stars and wondered if I would ever see them again. Would I ever see Dutch again? Most likely not, but maybe it was better this way. They wouldn’t have to worry about protecting me anymore. 

I ran my fingers through Blair’s mane and cried a bit more. He didn’t deserve to go out like this. He was only eight years old, and he had a whole lot of time left, but it was ripped from him. 

I closed my eyes and let darkness consume me, numbing my pain. 

***

When I opened my eyes I was surprised that I was still alive. The sun was just beginning to rise, spreading through the trees like a bright fire. I was still in the same spot that I had managed to pull myself to last night. The cloth that I had wrapped around myself was still working, but they were all around soaked in blood, and my whole body was just covered in dirt, blood, and bruises. I couldn’t even move from the position I was in, I was like a sitting duck here. 

My limbs felt completely numb, maybe they were frozen from how cold the night had become, between that and the damage that had been done to me. Breathing even seemed like a chore at this point. Blair was stiff behind me, and my heart sunk remembering he was shot. 

My stomach rumbles and I remembered I hadn’t eaten in awhile. Maybe two days considering I didn’t eat yesterday either. I felt like I was dying, considering the fact that I probably was. If someone was out looking for me, they better pray they find me soon. 

My eyes began to feel heavy once more, and I couldn’t help but let them close. 

***

When I awoke once more I felt hands gripping onto me, and I felt like I was being bounced all over the place. There was something solid behind me, holding me in place. 

I forced my eyes open only to be blinded by the bright setting sun. White was also in my vision, I was on top of a white horse. The Count, Dutch must have found me. I looked above me and saw Dutch focusing on the road in front of him. He seemed like he was in a hurry, rushing to where ever he was headed. Arthur was on his right side, my saddle was strapped to the back of his horse. 

“I will kill him.” I heard Dutch faintly say. 

“We can focus on that later, just focus on getting her help.” 

I lulled my head back into the crook of Dutch’s neck, breathing in his sweet scent. He smelt of cigars, and gunpowder. He just smelt amazing, and I wanted to just kiss him and tell him just how sorry I was. 

“I love you Dutch.” I tried to say, but it came out more like, “I lowe yah Dutch.”

He looked down at me and shook his head at me. 

“Save your strength, please Luna.” He almost seemed like he was begging me. His eyes were extremely saddened, and he pushed his horse to go even faster towards their destination. 

When we arrived to where ever we were Arthur quickly got off his horse and came running over to us. Dutch gently lifted me by the armpits and handed me slowly down to Arthur. I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly as he swooped me up into his embrace. He smelled good too, like pine along with mint. He carried me inside of a building, Dutch following closely behind him. 

“We need a doctor immediately.” Arthur said. There was then a lot of commotion and I was brought into a room, the lights were too bright for me though and I had to squint. 

Arthur laid me gently down onto a table, where a man looked over me. He looked old, he must’ve been the doctor. 

“What exactly happened to her?” The doctor asked, examining my wounds. 

“She was attacked and shot.” Dutch snapped, taking his hat off. He seemed anxious. The doctor hummed and grabbed some equipment, going down near my leg. The bullet laid in my shin, almost all the way through. 

He removed the bloody rag and gave me a shot of numbing medicine. He was gonna remove the bullet, I swallowed anxiously. Dutch came to my side and gripped my hand. 

“It’s okay, Luna, just breathe.” He said softly. The doctor plunged the tweezers in to retrieve the bullet. I wanted to scream, I could still feel everything, the medicine wasn’t working. The bullet was removed and the doctor began to sow it shut, successfully stopping the blood from pouring out. 

He moved up to my ribs next, gently lifting my shirt to reveal the letter that was carved into me. I heard a slight growl come from Dutch when he saw the letter, along with the bruises that littered my skin. My face was even slightly beaten up. The doctor put some cream on me, and a bandage. He also handed Dutch a few bandages. 

“The best you could do for her is make sure she doesn’t walk much. That wound is serious, and she is lucky she hadn’t bled out. When you get home try and bathe her, it'll help clean her wounds.” The doctor said, pulling down my shirt. 

Dutch nodded and helped me to sit up. It hurt, but I had managed. 

“Thank you.” Arthur said as we left. 

I was carried outside and handed off to Arthur. Dutch climbed up on his horse and held out his arms for me. He gently lifted me up and secured me on. I laid my head back against his chest, listening to his heart beat. 

We rode back towards camp, not a word being spoken. All I could hear is Dutch’s angry breathing, and the pounding of the horses running. 

“Dutch I’m in so much pain.” I whimpered, I could barely feel my shot up leg. He rubbed my face soothingly, the rings on his fingers added comfort. 

We arrived back at camp, everyone looking over at Dutch. Dutch hitched his horse and helped me get down. He held me close to his chest, walking over near his tent. 

“Miss Grimshaw will you fill me a bath please?” Dutch asked one of the ladies. They all dashed around, eventually filling a hot steaming bath over near my tent, in complete privacy. He carried me over and set me on the ground. 

I needed to take my clothes off, but I couldn’t by myself. Dutch leaned down and helped me get everything off, exposing the damages to my body. I bet I looked disgusting. I was gently lifted and placed into the nice warm bath. 

Dutch slid fully clothed in behind me, guiding me to lay back onto his chest. He grabbed some soap and the sponge and began to clean me, washing all the dirt off of me and rinsing my hair of the blood that stained it. 

“He will never hurt you again, I’m sorry that I failed you.” Dutch said softly, rubbing my body, easing all the sore spots. 

“This is not your fault, it is my own. Colm said this is just a message and that he would be back for me.”

Dutch growled deeply behind me, and massages my scalp. His hands felt soothing, and the rings that he wore were wonderful. He was helping to ease my pain, and he was doing a good job. 

“If Colm ever touches you again, I’ll shoot his head off.” Dutch said, and the tone of voice made me shiver. He sounded scary, and I’d never heard him get like this. 

“He shot Blair straight through the heart before he left, and I think that was the worst part of it all. I raised that horse from when he was a baby.” I said tearfully. 

“You can use The Count for now, he can protect you if anything shall go wrong.” 

I nodded and wiped some of my tears aways. I was still kind of mad at Dutch, he was with someone and here he was acting like he didn’t even know about it. He was being so gentle with me and kind, never had a man been such a way with me. I’ve only had a few men in my life, I’m only twenty four after all. 

“That redhead says your an item.” I said angrily. Dutch paused in massaging my scalp. He sighed from behind me. 

“She is someone who was in the past. Though we were never exclusive, even if she still likes to say that we are. Anything she says is just lies, dear.” Dutch soothed, and it kind of simmered down my nerves, but I still wanted to rip her to shreds. 

“That’s why I left yesterday, because of her.” 

Dutch was silent, and then he rose to his feet. Without saying a word he wandered into camp, his clothes dripping wet, making him look kind of funny. 

“Molly!” He screamed, his hands bawling into fists. Then the little bitch came running over and fluttered her eyelashes at him, like some cheap whore. She went to grab onto him but he slapped her away. Molly fell to the ground then in tears. 

“You’re done for now!” Dutch yelled, and dragged her away by her hair. It was a funny sight, seeing her get what she had deserved. 

I felt a presence besides me and I glanced only to see Micah. I had never really talked to him since he had put a loaded gun to my head. He looked crazy back then, and there was still a glint in his eye that I didn’t trust. 

“Can I help you?” I asked nervously, sinking down some more to help me sink in the bubbles. I didn’t want to expose myself to him. 

Micah went in front of me and leaned onto the tub, right until he was inches away from my face. He had a sneer, and he seemed agitated with me. 

“Whatever you’re doing to Dutch needs to stop. You’re distracting him from all the crime he should be doing.” Micah spat at me. I cringed, I wasn’t doing anything to Dutch. Micah seemed quite evil though, there was just something about him that made red flags pop up. 

“I’m not doing anything you idiot.” I growled at him, splashing a hand full of soapy water straight into his eyes. He yelled and stood up straight, scratching at his eyes, which were now a burning red. 

He leaned back down towards me, his eyes burning with hatred. I felt extremely vulnerable, I couldn’t even runaway if I had to, he could kill me now and there would be nothing I could do about it. 

His hand slammed forward around my neck, cutting off all oxygen from entering my lungs. My hands cane up to grip his wrist, in hopes of stopping him. 

“Look miss Luna, stay out of my way and we won’t have a problem. Dutch needs to get us money so we can get out of here. All you keep doing is distracting him from doing so. If you keep getting in my way, I can promise you that you’ll be in worse condition then you are right now.” 

And with that said, he released his hold on me. I breathed in quick breaths, trying to normalize my heartbeat. I was now beyond terrified about what to do. Micah was just terrifying to me now. Micah walked off, throwing one more hateful glare in my direction. 

I gripped my neck carefully, still feeling like his hand was choking me out. I needed to get out of this bath before he comes the hell back. God knows that his stupid plans are with me. 

I lifted myself up carefully, but I couldn’t feel my legs that much still. So I tipped myself out of the tub and tried to crawl with my arms into my tent. Though it really wasn’t working out so well. I didn’t want anyone to see my bare ass, I would be beyond embarrassed. 

Arthur then decided to round the corner, and he stared down at me, then realizing I was naked. He had a slight blush dusting his cheeks but he quickly got into action. He took off his big jacket and laid it over top of me. It was long enough to cover all my sensitive parts. 

He gently lifted me off the grassy ground and up into his arms bridal style. I gripped loosely onto his shirt, embarrassed still that he had seen me. 

“Thanks, Arthur.” 

“It’s not a problem, Darling. Let’s go find Dutch for you, he should be done with Molly by now. She should be leaving you alone now.” Arthur said, carrying me to where he had last seen Dutch. I felt everyone’s eyes land on me, and the wound that was exposed on my leg. There was also bruises littered across my skin. 

“I’m gonna give you a gun and train you on how to defend yourself.” Arthur said, no room for argument in his tone. I nodded, sighing sadly. This is what it’s come down to, needing a gun to protect myself from the bad guys. 

“Dutch!” Arthur called to the man, Dutch was delivering fierce kicks to Molly’s face, and spitting rude comments at her. When Dutch heard his name called he paused and headed over to where Arthur was holding me. 

“Why would you take her out of the tub?” Dutch asked, taking me from Arthur’s hold. 

“She tried to get out on her own and had fallen out. I didn’t want anyone to see her.” Arthur said, calming him down. Dutch sighed and thanked his long time friend before carrying me to his own tent. 

“Molly won’t be bothering you anymore.” Dutch said to me, laying me down on his mattress. I sighed in relief, she had gotten what she deserved. 

“I will go fetch you some clothes, I’ll be right back.” 

I stretched out on his mattress, enjoying how it smelt just like him. I wasn’t going to tell him what Micah had said to me, in fear that he wouldn’t believe me. Micah was here before I was, and Dutch had seemed to enjoy his company. I didn’t want to stir anything up between the two because Micah would know it came from me. I didn’t want to feel this way ever again, let alone be in worse condition. 

Dutch returned with my clothes and had helped me get dressed. After I was he claimed I should get proper rest, it would be the only thing that would help me heal. I took his advice and had drifted off to a comfortable sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

A week had passed since I was found by Dutch and Arthur. My injuries were healing quite nicely. Dutch has been helping me get back on my feet. I was able to walk a little bit now, but not fast or too much, or I would collapse. The scar I had on my chest was looking a lot healthier now, even if I would have that scar for life. 

Arthur was supposed to take me out shooting today, and give me my very own gun. Dutch was even in on the idea, claiming it would be better off if I was armed, Colm would have a harder time getting me. Not that Dutch would let that happen to me, not while his heart was pumping strongly in his chest. 

Dutch had helped me walking over to our horse, I was only gonna be able to shoot from sitting on the horse. Just until I had my full strength back to stand on my own. 

Dutch clicked his tounge and The Count lowered his height for me. With the help of both Arthur and Dutch I was saddled up to the horse and ready to go. The Count rose to his full height, ready to ride. 

“Be careful out there.” Dutch said, patting my leg gently. I nodded and smiled at him before following Arthur out of camp. We rode down the steep mountain and across the river. 

The Count easily went through the water, even swimming successfully in a deep area, he never once let me fall off of him. I trusted this horse, he was a good boy, and Dutch was right when he said nothing would happen to me while riding him.

Me and Arthur had ended up riding out to an open field, where props had already been set up by the outlaw. I smiled over at him, slowly loading the revolver that had been given to me by Dutch. It was small but it looked huge in my small hands. 

“Alright Cowgirl, I marked where you should aim. Let’s see what you got.” Arthur challenged, smirking at me. I raised the gun with one shaky hand, seeing where he painted a little red X on the dummies. 

I cocked the gun then fired, completely missing the target. Arthur laughed, riding over to me. 

“You need to hold it with two hands for now. Until you’re used to holding a weapon.” Arthur instructed gently. Arthur lifted his revolver and showed me just how to hold it and take aim correctly. 

I did as instructed, firing once more. I was only a little off this time, and Arthur seemed satisfied with that. He praised me, saying how well I was doing on my first practice. 

I had taken a couple more shots, and two had pierced through the red X. The others were darn near pretty close to it. I got proud of myself, I had never really shot a gun before. Only a bow, for hunting, which I was pretty good at. Arthur had seemed impressed with my shots, and kept on praising me with every shot I took. 

When the sun began to set we decided it was best to head back. Over the horizon it also seemed like there was a nasty storm brewing, it was best I get home anyways. Dutch didn’t like me out for too long, still anxious over what had happened. 

Arthur and I rode alongside one another, talking about the good old days of our childhood. Arthur had a love once, Mary. They weren’t together because he didn’t fit into her life, he was too much of an outlaw for her to handle. Though he had recently helped her out by saving her brother from some weird religious group. Arthur was a good man, even if he didn’t want to be. I trusted him, he seemed like someone that wouldn’t ever hurt a fly, only if he was threatened by it. 

We arrived safely back to camp, and Dutch was sitting outside at one of the tables having a cigar, he had been waiting me for clearly. The Count rode over to him and lowered himself to the ground for me. 

Dutch stood up and swooped me up into his arms gently. There was something bothering him though, I could just tell from the look on his face. 

“Get going boy.” Dutch said, walking back to his tent. The Count neighed and scampered off to go and eat some fresh grass. 

“What’s going on?” I asked once we were tucked away in his tent. He sighed and took his hat off, placing it on the little table. He looked tired, and stressed beyond a belief. 

“We need to move, there’s been some trouble and we need to get out of here.”

“What kind of trouble?” I pushed, laying down onto his bed. He didn’t want to tell me and worry me, that much was clear. 

“I feel as though the law is getting to us and figuring us out. The O’Driscoll boys were also seen sniffing around here.” Dutch said, and a cold chill ran up my spine. 

“Those boys are after me Dutch, maybe you should all just move and I’ll-“

“No! Don’t even talk that way. Where ever I go you are coming with me!” Dutch yelled suddenly, making me sink back at his tone of voice. This wasn’t their fight, that gang wouldn’t bother with them so much if it wasn’t for me. 

“Dutch please just-“

“I said no! That’s the end of it!” He huffed angrily, and let me just say, when he was angry, he was terrifying. I walked out of the tent then, slowly, but I walked out. I sat myself in front of the little campfire that was going on. 

Arthur was there talking to Hosea, but when he noticed me, he excused himself from Hosea and walked over to sit next to me. When he sat down, he handed me a little bowl of food, which I thanked him for. 

“What would happen if I left?” I suddenly asked him, swallowing some of the stew. It was actually pretty good, unlike some of the other food I’ve had here. 

“Dutch would lose his mind trying to find you. Is there something going on?” Arthur asked me, taking his hat off. 

“No, I just feel like a bother if I stay here. Dutch mentioned that those boys are sniffing around here, and I know I’m a major cause of that.” I said, huffing out a worried breath. No one needed to die because of me, not so soon. I would feel terrible if someone did, especially if it was Arthur. He was loyal to Dutch, and if Dutch commanded him to protect me, then without a doubt Arthur would. I couldn’t live with that, knowing someone had to die for some worthless person like me. 

“You’re never a bother, don’t get down like that.” Arthur said, giving my back a pat. He stood, offering me his arm, which I gladly took. He helped me back to my own tent, which I thanked him for. 

I watched Arthur walk off to his own tent before I fully went into mine. Dutch would be fine by himself for the night, he had no reason to create a fuss. 

I sat down on my bed for a long time, my mind was racing too fast to get any rest. I belonged here, but the threats Micah had made lingered fresh in my mind. He wanted Dutch to keep up the criminal activity that he always had. Dutch slowed down because I had caught his eye, and most of his attention was now mine. It was a good feeling but unsettling at the same time. When Micah had first seen me he had put a gun to my head for fuck’s sake. I didn’t trust him or any of his intentions. 

I crawled out of my tent after a few hours, there was no point of trying to sleep now. I limped over to where my saddle laid, untouched since I had ridden Blair. The camp had some spare horses, which were used for the wagons or running errands. 

I approached a black stallion, and he watched me with careful and untrusting eyes. Wagon horses didn’t get the love regular horse did, and they were sometimes untrusting of human touch. 

I reached my hand out to him, letting him get a scent of me. I needed him to trust me, and not get spooked. I reached in my bag and pulled an apple out for him, which he eagerly took from my hand. 

 

I patted down the side of his neck, ever so slowly I slid the saddle onto him. To my surprise he had let me, seeming unbothered by my intentions. I began to strap it to him, and added my saddle bag on the back as well. I tried to get on him but my leg was still too bad to get up on my own. 

I lead him over to a tall enough rock for me to crawl across and hop on. The whole struggle of me getting on was watched by The Count. He had never once taken his eyes off of me, and he watched me leave camp on the horse as well. 

I pushed the horse up to Valentine, I needed to run some errands, even if the sun was just starting to crack against the horizon. I stopped outside the gunsmith, I needed to buy some rifles if I was gonna be able to protect myself. I used the hitch post to slowly slide down from the tall horse. 

I walked inside and bought myself two long range rifles, as well as a gun belt to hold my revolver at my side. I hooked the two rifles onto my horses saddle, where they would be quick to access if need be. 

Next I headed over to the general store, buying myself some new pants as well as a few pretty shirts. I needed to look good and take care of myself, even if I was probably just going to get dirty most of the time. I packed all my stuff up on the back of the horse, tying it down tightly. 

“Did you need any help, Miss?” 

Someone spoke from behind me, making me jump out of my Skin a little. I turned around and saw a shady man standing behind me, with a smirk on his face. He gave me bad vibes, and I shuddered at his no good state. 

“No, but thank you mister.” I said as kindly as I could. I went to try and get on my horse but he stopped me, grabbing a belt loop in my pants. 

“I wasn’t really asking darling.” He said, pulling me back to him. I tried to push away, but I was still weak from my injuries. I heard a fast horse approaching, neighing loudly as it came into view. The Count ran towards where I was, slamming the man away from me with a huff. 

He quickly leaned down for me to jump on, and I did as quickly as I could. I whistled to the black horse, telling him to follow. The count ran out of town with me holding on for dear life. He ran as though he was being shot at, and zipped through the woods, to throw off any followers if there were any. 

The Count had no saddle or anything on him, so I had to grip his mane in order to not fall off of his back. There was the sound of rushing horses behind us, someone was definitely hot on our trail. 

I looked to the black horse running alongside of us, he was looking like he was running out of energy. I didn’t blame him, I felt the same way. 

“Go get Dutch, get on out of here!” I yelled to him, but first I had reached over and grabbed my rifle off of him. The black horse fled, no one followed him which I was thankful for. No one needed to know where our camp was. 

The Count ran into a clearing, halting as we neared a cliff edge. We were trapped, the only way out was down, and there was a high and rushing river down there. 

The men halted as well, there was three of them. None of them were Colm O’Driscoll, which was a little better on my mind. I cocked my gun, ready for a fight if one broke out. 

“Can I help you gentlemen?” I spat out, glaring hard at all of them. They started to near closer, but The Count held his ground, huffing hard and loudly, and aggressively at the approaching men. 

“I believe you know what we want, miss.” The one said, smiling sickly at me. I wanted to throw up, it was sickening. I should have known better than to wander into town, after what Dutch had told me. I was foolish on my part, but I just wanted to get some air. 

“Get out of here, before you regret it.” I said dangerously, doing my best to look threatening. I was short, and probably looked like a child on a high and mighty horse. I was probably the least threatening thing they’ve ever seen. 

They laughed at me, trying to come closer. The Count ran forward, breaking through the middle of them, but before they could turn and start firing, The count quickly came charging back. I held out my legs, taking two of them down in the process off their horses. 

The thing was, The Count was headed straight for the cliff, with determined steps. He was speeding up, not slowing down like he should’ve been. I gripped onto him tightly, afraid of the outcome. 

At the last moment he made a sharp turn, and ran along the cliff edge in a random direction. I could feel my hands slipping off his mane as he ran, he was moving at such a fast pace for him to not be wearing any equipment. I fell off his side, just barely hanging on to his fur. My body was hanging off the cliff side, and if I did slip, I would die. 

The Count couldn’t move over to bring me to safety, the guy who hadn’t been knocked off his horse was right on his other side. I tried to pull myself up, but I was unable to, I was slipping slowly. 

Other horses were coming, and if it was more trouble I wasn’t sure. I screamed as The horse was bumped into, shaking me dangerously. 

A loud gunshot rang through the air, the O’Driscoll went flying to the ground, shit dead. The Count flew away from the cliff, crashing as he did so. I went flying as he slammed into the ground, but I managed to avoid being crushed by his weight. I rolled to a stop right next to him.

I looked up to see who had come to my rescue, but it was definitely not Dutch. Arthur sat high on his horse, hopping off and running over to me. 

“Are you hurt?” He asked, scanning me over for any injuries. I was fine, all that hurt was my bad leg from the fall, and my hands from gripping the horse so tightly. 

“I’m fine Arthur, really.” I said as he helped me to stand. He didn’t seem convinced though, but he nodded anyways. 

“Where’s Dutch?” I asked him, sitting on The Count. The horse rose to its feet, not injured from his tumble either. 

“He went into town with a few others, and he thought you were in your tent sleeping. Until he realized his horse was gone.” Arthur said, and I smiled cheekily at that. 

“The Count came for me, I had taken an extra horse.” I defended. Arthur sighed but smiled at me. 

“The only reason I came is because his horse was gone. But let’s get back, it’s dangerous for you to be out here.” Arthur said, and we both began to run towards camp. 

The horses rode side by side, and we ended up in camp in only a few minutes. That gang was truly close to the camp, and luckily I hadn’t led them straight to it. If we had an attack on camp then we would be in some serious shit. We all could fight, but that didn’t mean that we would be able to defend them all off. A surprise attack would lead to a lot of people getting killed. 

I got off The Count and headed over to the saddled horse I chose. I carefully took all of my bags off from today’s purchases and took them into my tent. That was the only good thing that came out of today.


	5. Chapter 5

Dutch had Arthur and Charles scout out our next camp, which just happened to be near Rhodes, a little small war town East from where we had been camping. The ride there had been uneventful, Dutch wanted to get there as fast as possible, claiming he didn’t need any more O’Driscoll boys sniffing around where we were. 

I had ridden with Dutch to our new camp, holding his hand as he steered the horses onwards. All of our stuff packed the wagon to the max, and I was surprised the horses hadn’t collapsed from the weight yet. They were probably used to pulling so much, this was getting to be a big gang. 

When we had arrived, I set my tent up super close to the water, enjoying the fresh breeze it brought across the land. Dutch had set up not far from me, and Arthur was on my other side. 

If you looked far enough over the water, you could see the ships going in and out of Blackwater. It was a pretty sight, but the bustling town had always put me on edge, it was always too crowded. 

Dutch had let me keep that black horse I had taken that other night. He was a strong stallion, and Arthur let me know that it was his old horse, who he had given to the camp to use. His name was Flame, and he was about twelve years old. I loved him already though, and he was very loving back. 

He hadn’t been ridden in awhile, so I would have to take it easy on him until he could take me being on his back. Dutch still wanted me to use his horse, because his horse would be able to save me if he weren’t there for me. I would be okay though, this time no horse would die from Colm, I would make sure of it. 

Dutch had bought me all new saddle gear, one that would help me control the horse better and hold on, in case the horse reared up out of fear. 

“Are you settling in okay?” Dutch walked over and sat on the Dock, where I let my feet hang in the cold water. 

“Yes, I love the views of this place. Tell me Dutch, are we going to keep on running?” I asked him, pulling my hair away from my face. These people didn’t deserve to keep on running, Dutch had to have a plan, on where to go. 

“We are going to go to Tahiti, a little island that no one will look for us on.” Dutch said, sitting down next to me. I leaned into his shoulder, enjoying the smell of cigars on him. 

“How will we get there?” 

“A boat, once we have enough money, we can leave this place behind us. No more running after that.” Dutch assured me gently. 

It sounded nice, living on an island. Of course I would miss this place, I’ve lived here my whole life. There was nothing left for me here though, no house, no nothing. My parents were gone, and the rest of my family was too, all dead. 

“We will get there, we just need to stick together.” I said, smiling up at him. He grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze, seeming relived that I wanted to go with him. 

“With you by my side, there is nothing I can’t do.” Dutch said, bumping his shoulder lightly against mine. Dutch stood up, pulling me up along with him. He had a devilish smirk on his face, and suddenly lifted me up, before he threw me off of the dock. Even if I couldn’t swim I wasn’t afraid, he knew I couldn’t swim. 

He jumped in after me, grabbing my hips and pulling me closer. He was holding us both above water, smiling cheekily at me. 

Dutch held me close, pushing my wet hair out of my face. He leaned in close, I could feel his breath hitting my face. I closed the gap between us, giving him a kiss. 

It was soft and sweet, something you’d never expect to come from an outlaw like him. I loved the feeling of it, and I smiled into the kiss. He pulled away, caressing my chin gently. 

“The boys and I are going to ride into town to see what it’s all about. You’re welcome to come.” Dutch said, and I was up for it. I’ve never been to Rhodes before, but heard many things about it. 

“Of course, lets saddle up.” 

I waked to my tent and put my boots on, along with my gun belt. All my other guns were strapped onto my horse, but easily accessible if need be. 

I mounted my horse, riding off into town with Dutch, Bill, Arthur, and Charles. Everyone else stayed back at camp to finish setting up. I rode alongside of Dutch, my horse keeping up with his at a medium pace. Hopefully this town would be peaceful, and no trouble could be brought upon us. 

We arrived in the little town, and it was quite cute. There were little shops, and a sheriffs office right near the bar. Dutch, along with Arthur headed over there, while I went to the bar with Charles and Bill. The little saloon was cute, but filled to the brim with people, and it was only late afternoon. I hopped off my horse and headed inside with the guys, ordering beer for us all. 

I wanted to drink until my mind stopped working. Things have been too rough lately for me, and each day that passes, the more I miss my parents. It was foolish to keep on missing them, there was no way they were ever coming back to me. Colm would pay for what he did though, even if it meant disobeying the gang, it’s just something I had to do. 

The thought of running off on Dutch sent spikes through my heart and my breathing stutter. I didn’t want to hurt him, or anyone for that matter. They were my family now, but revenge was heavy on my mind. My parents would avenge me if it was the other way around. I didn’t even try and save my parents, I ran off like a little Bitch. 

I downed my drink and got another one. I would drink to forget tonight. Any rash decisions could wait to be made, and when the time was right I would act out. 

I kept downing my drinks, and I found myself out on the dance floor as some fellas played the piano and other instruments. I ended up dancing with some cute country boys, and I actually was enjoying myself. I danced with them for hours, all while drinking as much as my body could take in. Arthur, and Dutch, had all ended up coming to the bar after visiting the sheriff. Dutch watched as I got along with the other guys there, some dancing a little too close for Dutch’s comfort. I smiled to myself, it was nice to see Dutch get jealous. 

I let them come close, and then Arthur joined me, probably on Dutch’s orders to watch me. As soon as he was close I latched onto him, dancing with him. He wasn’t used to dancing with anyone, his moves were hesitant, and he wasn’t drunk like me. 

He eventually picked up the pace, keeping up with me. I chugged the rest of my beer, throwing the empty glass somewhere behind me, not caring where it landed. 

Arthur danced with me like a gentlemen, never once placing his hands anywhere that he shouldn’t. 

“What do you say about going home Miss Luna? The sun has gone down awhile ago.” Arthur tried to persuade me, but I knew it was Dutch who wanted to head back to camp. I nodded, and Arthur helped to lead me outside, the rest of the gang following us. 

I whistled loudly for Flame, who came flying around the corner, along with The Count. I smiled, The Count desperately seemed to miss me riding him, it had been awhile. I mounted up on flame, getting a sad look from the white stallion, which Dutch mounted. 

I lead the group home, Dutch not far from behind me, and Arthur backing up the other side of me. I pushed Flame to his full speed, which was enough to kick up dust in all the boy’s faces. I smiled as they all spluttered, The Count ran up to be alongside of me. I reached out and gave him a pat, and he pushed into my hand gently. 

We arrived back to camp then, Micah was waiting for Dutch outside of his tent as soon as we got back. I watched as Dutch headed over to him as soon as we got back, they both disappeared inside Dutch’s tent. I had to admit I was curious, but Micah’s threats were still fresh in my mind. 

I hitched up Flame, and gave him some apples for dinner. I made sure The Count also had some food, it was supposed to be cold tonight, and I didn’t want the horses to starve and freeze. 

I walked over to Dutch’s tent, sitting in the chair outside. Their voices were muffled, so there was no point in listening. My drunken self would probably forget anyways. I felt a bit more sober, having a bad feeling in my chest. Something wasn’t right, and it was making my mind race with worry. 

Dutch then came out, Micah following right behind him, both were grinning. My gut wrenched some more at the sight, this didn’t seem to be good. 

“Arthur! Come over here, son.” Dutch called out, and Arthur appeared out of his tent, headed over to where we all were. 

“What’s up, Dutch?” Arthur asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“Micah just informed me that Colm O’Driscoll was looking to make a peace treaty. To end all the bloodshed.” Dutch said, slapping Arthur on the shoulder. My mind spluttered to a harsh halt. 

Arthur seemed in disbelief, and my mind was screaming that it was a trap. A huge trap, Colm was still after me, there was no way he now wanted to come to an agreement. 

“Dutch don’t do this, it’s a mistake.” I said, standing up and moving closer to them. Micah glared hard at me, but I knew this was terrible and an obvious set up. 

“Nonsense, Luna! Micah explained to me fully what Colm had wanted.” I was in disbelief that he was so easily brushing me off. Arthur seemed to feel the same way, but Dutch seemed to be on Micah’s side completely. 

“Yeah Luna, that’s nonsense!” Micah said, that glint in his eye was shining brightly. I growled at him, and surged forward, knocking him on his back. 

“Look you rat, you’re going to damn us all! Can’t you fucking see that this is a trap?!” I screamed, and pointed my gun down at Micah, a sneer on my face. Dutch grabbed my arm and tried to take my aim off Micah, but I wasn’t budging. This was such a fucking set up. 

“Luna, put the gun down, let’s be calm about this.” Dutch tried, but I could barely hear him at the blood rushing through my ears. Arthur didn’t even try to intervene, instead, he smiled at the situation. 

Micah went to surge at me, but before he could even get close, or my gun could go off, The count had chest slammed him back down. He broke free of his hitch post to intervene. He snorted angrily at Micah, stomping angrily. I grabbed him by his harness before he could inflict damage. 

“Let’s go boy, this rat ain’t worth getting dirty over. Dutch, do whatever the fuck you want.” I said angrily, walking The Count over to my tent. I hitched him up, tying a rope loosely to his harness. Who knows if Micah would try to kill me in my sleep. 

I went in my tent and felt the tears slide down my face. What was a good night had taken a horrible turn. This should’ve never even been a thought in Dutch’s head, it was a death wish for the entire camp. 

I laid down, feeling my body go slack against the mattress. Maybe Dutch would change his mind by tomorrow.


End file.
